Desperate Housewives Finale: Should Nicollette Sheridan Have Been Included?

Forty-eight characters have been killed on Desperate Housewives since the ABC soap premiered on October 3, 2004, but perhaps none died as memorably as Nicollette Sheridan's Edie Britt.

In Season 5, after being strangled by her psychotic third husband Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), a frantic Edie sped off in her car, swerved into an electricity pole and then stepped into a puddle, where she was then electrocuted.

During Desperate Housewives' series finale Sunday, Teri Hatcher's Susan Delfino took one final drive down Wisteria Lane, where she was surrounded by memories of her deceased neighbors -- Edie excluded.

"As Susan left her driveway, she had a feeling shed was being watched. And she was," her old friend Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) narrated. "The ghosts of people who had been a part of Wisteria Lane were gazing upon her as she passed. They watched her as they watch everyone, always hoping the living could learn to put aside rage and sorrow, bitterness and regret. These ghosts watch, wanting people to remember that even the most desperate life, is oh so wonderful."

Credit: ABC/MOSHE BRAKHA

Though Sheridan's character was noticeably left out of the touching scene, others -- including Mike Delfino (James Denton), Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi), Karen McCluskey (KathrynJoosten), Rex Van de Kamp (Steven Culp), George Williams (Roger Bart), Juanita "Mama" Solis (Lupe Ontiveros), Beth Young (Emily Bergl), Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook) -- returned to Desperate Housewives one final time before the show's end.

Sheridan's absence was not entirely unexpected, however. In April 2010, the 48-year-old actress filed a $20 million lawsuit against show creator Marc Cherry and ABC. Sheridan alleged that Cherry assaulted her on set and, as a result, she was wrongfully terminated for reporting the alleged abuse to ABC.

On March 13, 2012, a judge dismissed Sheridan's battery charge against Cherry, 50. Six days a later, 12 jury members failed to reach a verdict, and a mistrial was declared. A retrial is scheduled to begin on September 10, 2012.

Even without Sheridan, Cherry had planned the final scenes of Desperate Housewives years ago. "The last seven minutes or so was something I had an idea for since Season 1, and I kept it in my back pocket," he recently said. "They're doing it exactly the way I wanted them to, so I'm very happy how we're going out. Going out in style."

Tell Us: Should Nicollette Sheridan's Edit Britt have been featured in the final scene?